All about Exhausts / Mufflers / Silencers for RE Bullets

This is a discussion on All about Exhausts / Mufflers / Silencers for RE Bullets within Motorbikes, part of the BHP India category; Originally Posted by ArizonaJim
I seriously doubt that just changing the muffler on any Royal Enfield would give a 3.5 ...

Hi, I was planning to install a wildboar exhaust on my TB350 UCE today in Bangalore. Coincidentally, todays Bangalore mirror's news reads Bangalore traffic police are cracking down Bulleteers specifically and checking the dB levels on the bikes. 13bikes were seized in one day in just Indiranagar locality. So, my query is- if possible can you use a free android app used to measure the dB output of the exhaust from 1 metre far. I know this is silly and I would install the exhaust anyways my eyes are on it from a long time now. I am just curious about the dB levels.

Thanks

Hi, inline-six. With respect to your query, I think it is safe if you stick to OE exhaust or be prepared to be targeted by many cops in your locality. This might actually ruin you riding experience over time. Hence, if you are faced with such a conundrum, i think its best to stick to OE. I don't have the dB values right now. But I do remember it being around 85 dB during idle. Then it would go up to a ear threatening 110 dB at full throttle on an open highway. One way that you could use it around cops is to accelerate gradually with minimal throttle openings. That way, you might not get noticed much. But, I can't say the same thing about Nice Road..

I seriously doubt that just changing the muffler on any Royal Enfield would give a 3.5 bhp increase, even on a 500.

The increase in noise may make it seem like there has to be a big increase in power but most of it is in the riders head.

Power increases as large as these cannot be achieved by simply replacing a muffler.

I totally agree, when Indi-Motard released their new Exhaust, the 1st question I asked them was "Will this need any re-jetting".

Correct me if I am wrong, Most 4 stroke single cylinder use a megaphone exhaust for performance and will need careful jetting for performance. And the megaphone to work it should not have any baffles to interrupt the exhaust wave. So the current crop of exhaust in the Indian market calming to increase power is a bit suspicious. They do increase power to weight ratio.

I totally agree, when Indi-Motard released their new Exhaust, the 1st question I asked them was "Will this need any re-jetting".

Correct me if I am wrong, Most 4 stroke single cylinder use a megaphone exhaust for performance and will need careful jetting tfor performance. And the megaphone to work it should not have any baffles to interrupt the exhaust wave. So the current crop of exhaust in the Indian market calming to increase power is a bit suspicious. They do increase power to weight ratio.

Can someone jot down few brands that helps? I saw Red Rooster claims 20% increase (it also looks good and sounds good too @ a cost).

I'm not sure if this was a discussion about Bullets with loud silencers or a psychology session telling us that Bullet with Loud muffler owners have a deprived childhood with mama and papa problems, etc.

The supposedly bullet expert saying "the mufflers which are being removed and filled with glasswool gives exhaust compression more and it exceeds the limit of what the engine has in it" made be cringe. The expert starts speaking at 8:10

I'm not sure if this was a discussion about Bullets with loud silencers or a psychology session telling us that Bullet with Loud muffler owners have a deprived childhood with mama and papa problems, etc.

The supposedly bullet expert saying "the mufflers which are being removed and filled with glasswool gives exhaust compression more and it exceeds the limit of what the engine has in it" made be cringe. The expert starts speaking at 8:10

That, was a bad discussion.

Yes,just watched the rest of it now and just like all News9 discussions,it was hilarious.
They actually compared this behaviour to substance addiction!

All that claim of increasing bhp by a mere exhaust, rather a back pipe change is pure hogwash!!! As some one pointed out, the cat con is in the bent pipe, and most of the so called exhaust pipe swap don't involve the bent end, hence when one is not touching the most restrictive element in the system, how can one claim to have freed up the exhaust?

I tend to agree with those who call people desiring loud pipes as having some unresolved issues, because it is just that, a cry for attention, stating..hey look at me, and my loud bike.

A stock exhaust is designed to meet current sound norms, and playing with it, adding on some loud sound is mere pollution. Most people here would be horrified if I said, let me tinker with the exhaust of my Storme to ensure I make pretty black smoke each time I accelerate...so why do we put up with the quest for loudness?

Also remember the decibel scale is logarithmic. Any sound exceeding 90 decibel causes permanent hearing loss when exposed to on the long term. Hence loud pipe riders, beware!!

I tend to agree that some bullets can be excessively loud to the point of making me cringe, however I felt that this discussion was quite biased against enfields.

I think its natural to want to show off. whether its done tastefully or not depends upon the individual. You might see some folks who add those jaguar emblems onto their front mudguard , add weird alloys and a whole other bunch of stuff. I don't really know how much it has to do with mummy/daddy issues.

The discussion could have been a lot better with better representatives. I felt that only the older gentleman on the right was making any sort of sense.

I really think that the host was incompetent, maybe its something to do with him calling it the Bajaj Duke.

So all the sbk's,Harleys,Triumphs etc running their respective performance exhausts get off scot-free? After all the RTO representative did say that no modification is allowed to the stock company fitted exhausts.

Was it just me or did it look extremely harmful the way that cop had that enfield at wot for that long.

I was kind of expecting this especially since Bangalore cops have been proactive, and I can expect a posse to stand at crucial junctions where officegoer's will be stopped
As for me, I had the short bottle silencer and my electra used to sound good.

What was not good was the vibrations above 80kmph, heck it would not go above 80kph.

With plans for longer rides, I moved back to the stock silencer, vibrations have reduced a lot and top speed has increased as well.

Yeah the sound is no longer there, but I have started enjoying the rides more; especially the +100km ones.

Myself having a bullet with the retro bottle silencer (which is not loud), I am quite happy with this initiative. There are tons of people who go about making a ruckus with their free flow exhaust on the bull.

I am facing this issue where a lot of these guys ride fast on their bulls with a very very loud exhaust and that too after midnight. For them, the only fun in riding the bull is the loud noise. There have been couple of occasions where my toddler woke up with the noise.